Temple of Heaven (2)

This helps people feel they are removed farther from man's world and nearer and nearer to the gods. Huanqiu is crystal white, setting off the holy, Pure, empty and bright "heaven". Its two-layered enclosed walls are only a little more than one meter high before the tall, large round terrace, so as not to block the visual line. The 400-meter long and 30-meter wide Danbi Bridge, and the courtyard of Qiniandian Hall, also stand above the surrounding ground, for the same effect.

The round Qiniandian is 24 meters in diameter, its three-layered eaved pinnacle covered with green glazed tiles. Under this is a six-meter three-layered, white stone round terrace with a total height of 38 meters. The greenroofseemed to merge with the blue sky. All these are designed to create ima2erv of the close relation ship between man and heaven.

The Temple of Heaven widely uses symbolic and metaphor techniques to play up the theme. For example, in many cases, a round plane is used. Huanqiu uses the number 9 or the multiplication of 9 to symbolize "heaven". Qiniandian uses numbers related to the solar terms of agriculture.

(Source: chinaculture.org)